Dog Tags
by Drea Jackman
Summary: Dog Tags series. More Logan/Rogue shipper stuff. See what you think.
1. Bound

Title: Bound  
  
Written By: Drea Jackman  
  
Email: DreaJackman@Literati.co.uk  
  
Rating: 15 (UK-rating)  
  
Summary: Logan awakes from another nightmare and does some reflecting, then finally  
reaches a decision.  
  
Series: Dog Tags  
  
Disclaimer: I own none of the characters involved, not one of them. They all belong to   
Marvel....the lucky...ahem! I am merely playing with them, using them to entertain...and  
partly to fuel my aparent obsession for this couple. Don't ya just luv 'em?!?  
  
Archive: Sure, just email me to lemme know where first. Thanks!  
  
Feedback: Hell yeah! It's another of the small pleasures of writing.  
  
Author's Note: My first ever attempt at Logan/Rogue fic so please be gentle.  
________________________________________________________________  
  
"Grrraa!" The growl echoed off the paper thin motel room walls and resounded in  
his ears.  
  
His eyes darted around the darkened room. The sink in the far corner provided  
the only other sound in the room, the drip, drip, drip. The clock on the bedstand  
no-longer worked and was flashing midnight constantly. His eyes then flickered  
from the chair in the opposite corner, his leather jacket, denim and shirt were  
lying crumpled there, to the moonlit window.  
  
As the moonlight flowed over him , he cast his attention downward. Sitting bolt  
upright in bed he held his arms out. They trembled before him, sweat lying in tiny  
scattered beads across his skin. In an attempt to clear the now fleeting memories  
from his mind he gritted his teeth.  
  
'SKNT!' The loud metal sound resonated off the walls. The pain caused by the  
ripping of the flesh that covered his now clenched fists provided a clarity that  
sharply brought his consciousness forth, piercing the once again intruding  
nightmares. As quickly as they had appeared the claws were at once retracted,  
wounds instantly healing.  
  
Taking a deep breath he lay back, slamming his head into the already lumpy  
pillows. He raised his arms above his head, running his fingers through his  
drenched hair.  
  
'Just another nightmare.' Logan thought.  
  
Lying there in the silence he contemplated what had happened up until now.   
What had he learned about his past? He had gone looking for answers to  
questions he thought he'd sought, but instead had only found memories the likes  
of which he no longer wanted. The likes of which already tortured his every  
dream.  
  
Racking his mind for any comforting thought, something to anchor him to reality.   
For some reason at that moment Logan would have done anything to avoid  
returning to the abyss that loomed over sleep, always threatening to swallow him  
whole.  
  
He became restless. Diving up out of bed he went straight to the sink that still  
continued to drip. Turning on the cool flow of water he watched it for a few  
moments before plunging his hands underneath it. Allowing the liquid to pool  
there before washing it over his face. Logan allowed a single groan to escape  
him.  
  
Running wet hands through his hair he looked at the reflection staring back at him  
from the cracked mirror. Frowning at the dull throb of a headache that was slowly  
creeping over him, Logan sighed and turned away, crossing the tiny room.  
  
Standing left arm raised, pressed up against the window frame, a pose  
reminiscent of that struck within a cage in the bar at Laughlin City, he gazed out  
into the night. A single thought dominated his mind and caused his lips to curls  
into a smile.  
'That's where she walked into my life.' The thought came through clear and  
vibrant.  
  
The hooded figure watching him as he fought. He felt her eyes on him as he  
knocked the next guy out and returned to his cigar and whisky. Again as he  
returned to the bar for a beer when the place had emptied. All he could do was  
return the look. She'd looked so innocent sitting there all alone, 'kinda like me'  
he'd thought. Before he could wonder about the reasons a girl like her would be  
doing in a dive like this one, he was distracted by a hard tap in the shoulder.  
  
Logan had given a simple warning in return.  
  
"You lost your money already..." He spoke in a low monotone that almost  
growled, clearly hinting at the consequences if the drunken lout persisted. "You  
keep this up, you're gonna lose somethin' else."  
  
Unknown to him, after revealing himself to be a mutant defending himself and  
being ordered from the bar, was that a very scared Rogue had followed as he  
walked calmly out not looking back. Driving out into the nowhere of the frozen  
forest land he was completely unaware that she was stowed away in the back,  
almost frozen herself.  
  
So it was that they had met. So it was that he had brought her back, promising to  
take care of her when she had run scared. As she had saved his life twice now,  
so too had he for her.  
  
Taking her into his arms atop the Statue of Liberty he had pulled off a glove,  
willing to have himself drained if only to share his gift and heal her. Complete  
sorrow and pain had wracked his body as he realized that there was no sensation  
of draining at her touch. Clutching her limp body to his he pressed his lips to her  
forehead and held her tightly in an embrace. Closing his eyes he was unaware of  
the power overtaking him.  
  
Logan could only gasp and tremble as the life was drained from him. Cuts and  
lacerations began to appear over his body and face. Blood began to flow down  
his back, pouring from the leather suit he wore. He fell into unconsciousness, not  
knowing that if Rogue hadn't used all her strength to push him away at that  
moment he would have lost his life. Even with his healing gift it had still taken  
him 3 weeks lying in the infirmary to recover.  
  
'An' after all that you still ran away and left her' he thought. 'Some promise.'  
  
The words drifted back. "C'mon, I'll take care of you."  
  
As if something had given way inside him he jumped into action. Grabbing his  
shirt and jacket from the chair next to him he charged out of the door, pulling on  
his boots as he went.  
  
Reaching Cyclops' motorcycle he sat astride it, wearing only his jeans. The moon  
cast through the trees onto his pale skin. Face still portraying the thoughts that  
wandered his mind as he unconsciously raised a hand to his chest. The tags  
were not there and his fingers found only chilled flesh.  
  
Shivering out of his reverie he pulled on his shirt, both jackets, denim followed by  
trademark leather, and started up the cycle. It roared into life and he could feel  
the pull of it under him.  
  
Suddenly Logan realized something. Releasing his grip on the throttle he let the  
cycle power down to a low purr.   
  
'Where am I goin'?' The question just surfaced plain and simple. 'What am I  
gonna go back and say?'   
  
He thought of how he might have hurt her by leaving. That was it, enough, he  
didn't care. he wasn't going to let these thoughts tie him up any longer.  
  
As Logan revved up the motorcycle and roared out of the Motel's tiny parking lot,  
he realized that there'd be no place left for him to go, he was bound homeward.   
Homeward in mind, homeward in heart. Bound by her.  
  
Rogue's voice drifted back to him over the roaring engine.   
  
"You runnin' again?"  
  
Logan's answer was simple.   
  
"Not this time."  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  



	2. Thinkin' Of You

Title: Thinkin' Of You  
  
Written By: Drea Jackman  
  
Email: DreaJackman@Literati.co.uk  
  
Rating: 15 (UK-rating)  
  
Summary: Rogue awakens from another nightmare and finds herself contemplating her  
feelings toward a certain dark-haired mutant.  
  
Series: Dog Tags  
  
Disclaimer: I own none of the characters involved, not one of them. They all belong to   
Marvel....the lucky...ahem! I am merely playing with them, using them to entertain...and  
partly to fuel my aparent obsession for this couple. Don't ya just luv 'em?!?  
  
Archive: Sure, just email me to lemme know where first. Thanks!  
  
Feedback: Hell yeah! It's another of the small pleasures of writing.  
  
Author's Note: Second part of my Tags series. Hope ya like!  
________________________________________________________________  
  
She knew it was wrong to be thinking about him like this, to be feeling all the things she  
felt, but she couldn't stop no matter how hard she tried. Since he'd left she'd been thinking  
about him all the time, wishing he'd come back to her.   
  
Logan was the only real person who had never drawn away from her touch. Even after  
being on the receiving end of her gift twice already. Although each time, especially the  
last had brought him to the brink of death he hadn't shown any hesitation or fear in  
brushing her hair from her eyes or holding her when she needed comforting.  
  
When they'd first met it had been in a bar in Laughlin City, some God-forsaken place that  
lay snowed in to the North in Canada. Rogue had known then, watching the handsome  
stranger fight that he was different somehow, special. She'd noticed how he seemed  
aware of her watching him intently and yet hadn't regarded turned to regard her in the  
same manner.   
  
He was tall, she guessed standing at around six foot. He faced away from her, his strong  
back and broad shoulders catching her eye. Although he had been fighting contender  
after drunken contender, his exposed upper body showed no sign of harm, from the  
strong shoulders right down to his slim waist.  
  
The next time she'd seen him was at the bar. She sat across from him, still staring  
occasionally while he drank from the beer bottle in front of him and puffed at another  
cigar. As he'd notice her watching him, all he did was return the attention. That was  
until the drunken lout he'd beaten in the last round had approached him.  
  
Rogue had watched them silently until she saw the man pull a knife at which she yelled  
to him in warning. Watching him in slight awe and amazement as he ducked and dived,  
she thought that his behavior reminded her of a wild animal, in total control, acting from  
moment to moment on instinct alone.  
  
Somehow she had been unafraid to see three claws spring from each of his clenched fists.   
he had looked so feral and wild at that moment, yet when he had turned and glanced at  
her still watching him, he had seemed regretful. His face bearing an apologetic and  
disappointed expression, as if he hadn't wanted her to see him like this, to have seen this  
side of him. She had thought him to be a very complicated person, but someone she  
could relate to at the same time.  
  
And so it was, now...she remained at Xavier's school while he was out there somewhere  
alone, searching for a past long forgotten to him. There were terrible things in his past  
and strong as he may have been, she feared for him facing the discoveries alone. Even  
after so much time, she still awoke in the middle of the night trembling, sweating, even  
crying at the pain and torment caused by the memories that surfaced in her dreams and  
filled her head as she slept. They had all originated from him.  
  
Wondering if he was dreaming the same thing at that exact same moment in time, Rogue  
doubted that anyone else would ever understand the pain he'd felt or the person he was  
because of it. But she did.  
  
The loneliness and solitude that he had found himself confined to as he roamed from  
place to place, searching for anything that could reveal something to him. The  
restlessness that drove him to keep moving, she understood it all. Part of the reason he  
wasn't here now was down to it pushing him on.  
  
Logan could have been at least as old as the Professor while she was barely eighteen  
now, but thanks to his gifts he still had the body of a man in his prime. No matter what  
his gifts could, would or had done, he would still always be older than her.   
  
Confusion set in. 'Should I be having these thoughts? Can or should we be together even  
if we both want it?' Something Rogue secretly hoped Logan would in time. 'I suppose I'll  
never know, least not until he comes back.'   
  
She gazed out of the window onto the moonlit gardens below. The silence all around her  
made her wish Logan was there too, his bed just through the wall from hers. Hearing him  
occasionally toss and turn, mumbling and moaning as the same haunting dreams plagued  
his mind.   
  
There was no sound at all as a familiar sensation crept into her bones and set her whole  
body tingling. Immediately her thoughts took her to the moment Logan had tried to sneak  
off without saying goodbye. She'd felt his presence and caught up to him. A smile crept  
over her face as the words floated back to her and she whispered....."You runnin' again?"  
  
  



	3. Goodnight

Title: Goodnight  
  
Written By: Drea Jackman  
  
Email: DreaJackman@Literati.co.uk  
  
Rating: 15 (UK-rating)  
  
Summary: Logan returns to Marie in the night.  
  
Series: Dog Tags  
  
Disclaimer: I own none of the characters involved, not one of them. They all belong to   
Marvel....the lucky...ahem! I am merely playing with them, using them to entertain...and  
partly to fuel my aparent obsession for this couple. Don't ya just luv 'em?!?  
  
Archive: Sure, just email me to lemme know where first. Thanks!  
  
Feedback: Hell yeah! It's another of the small pleasures of writing.  
  
Author's Note: Part 3 of the tags goodie bag. Enjoy!  
________________________________________________________________  
  
  
The school loomed above him bathed in the moon's pale light. Standing there for what  
felt like hours, Logan just stared up at the grand building. No lights lit the darkened  
windows and the structure seemed almost ghost-like in its presence.  
  
Although only seven months had passed, he felt now that he had never been gone. In all  
his life he was sure he'd never as completely at home before, even though he didn't know  
how long that had been. It was the constant emptiness that pushed him onward and made  
him restless.  
  
Always the outcast, the lone Wolverine. Always that was, until he'd met her. Now he  
had a place to belong, he had made a connection, albeit these were things he hadn't yet  
told Rogue.  
  
With a sigh he crossed the lawn heading for the small door that led into the hallway.   
Every step he took toward the sleepy building filled him with an increasing feeling of  
warmth, a rising kind of panic ceasing his body. As he opened the door slowly he pushed  
all his reservations and thoughts of doubt down into the dark depths of unrecognition.  
  
* **  
  
Seconds after the whisper was uttered Rogue heard a very faint noise from the corridor  
running outside her room. It could just have easily been one of the other kids from the  
school or Scott going on a little patrol. Something he'd taken to doing some nights if he  
felt uneasy or couldn't sleep. It made her feel safe to know that the others were there to  
look out for her. But they could never look after her the way Logan could, the way he  
had promised.  
  
The sound came again followed by someone's hand closing around the door knob. Then  
all movement stopped. Silence.  
  
Rogue took a deep breath in anticipation and turned to the doorway. It was unchanged,  
still the same, empty. Perhaps she was imagining what she wanted to happen so badly.   
But the same feeling still gripped her whole body. She was almost certain of it. He was  
there. Heart racing, she wrapped her arms around her body, hugging tightly and turned  
her back to the door again.  
  
As if her last movement had been seen as some kind of signal there came the sound of  
the door knob finally turning. Rogue didn't move as Logan quietly stepped inside closing  
the door behind him.  
  
Logan took a few steps inside and stopped in the middle of the room. His mind was a  
whirl of questions, apologies and most importantly, how much he just wanted to stay here  
in her company. He stood there in silence, almost afraid to move. His shoulders slightly  
hunched, back arched, a troubled and confused frown knotting his brow.  
  
Rogue could feel her body almost humming in his presence. Her mind threw up  
questions that she didn't want to have to ask, feelings that had been there since he'd left  
were now amplified with him standing only a few feet away. The next sensation that  
consumed her took her completely by surprise and she wasn't prepared for it at all.   
Fighting the urge to break down into sobs she turned to face him.  
  
Gazing upon her curved outline that was silhouetted by the pale glow streaming in from  
the window behind her Logan tried to fight the growing need to hold her close.  
  
Their eyes met and not other sound was uttered. Logan wasn't sure of how to begin. All  
the things he wanted her to know, he couldn't make his mind form the thoughts of his  
mouth the words. As he stared at her searching for the right words it was Rogue who  
spoke first, her accent becoming thick showing her nervousness.  
  
"Logan..." she whispered faintly.  
  
"...Hey kid." Logan said, his voice barely above a low whisper, eyes never breaking  
contact with hers.  
  
Silence. Neither of them know how to carry their reunion forward in conversation. After  
all, now they both had what they'd wanted. They were back together. The hundreds of  
miles that had once separated them had become barely a few feet. Feeling himself  
slipping away Logan cleared his throat.  
  
"...I uh," Sigh "I...." he began, cursing himself for such a fumbled start. He looked on as  
her face fell slightly. 'Damn it just say it!'   
  
There was only one thing he could do right now and no sooner had he thought it than he  
had taken the three strides toward her and pulled her to him.  
  
Rogue flinched slightly, but nothing other than the thought of protecting Logan's life  
force from being drained could have made her draw away. She trusted him to know what  
he was doing at this moment.  
  
He enveloped her in his arms holding her head pressed softly against his chest.   
Squeezing her tight Logan rocked from side to side slowly and closed his eyes, a feeling  
of total comfort and ease swept through him and he knew it. This was where he  
belonged. Not on some God-forsaken quest for an unknown past, the end result of which  
had left him just as alone as it had her.  
  
She held him just as tightly as he did her. The cold leather felt somehow comforting  
against her skin. Rogue closed her eyes and a single tear spilled over and ran down her  
cheek.  
  
The parted slightly allowing them to make eye contact. He saw the tear and frowned  
again, taking the end of his shirt and drying her cheek gently. He longed to have been  
able to kiss the tear from her face or at the very least been able to touch her. Every fibre  
of him longed to comfort her. He couldn't stand to see a face so innocent marred with  
such pain.  
  
"I missed ya kid." Logan finally finished.  
  
Rogue felt herself smile and she squeezed her grip around his waist.  
  
"It wasn't the same 'round here without ya." she replied.  
  
The look she saw cross Logan's face at that moment was the closest thing she'd ever seen  
to an actual smile. But she knew how he felt. His eyes seemed so contented as they  
stared down at her. For once there was no pain or regret in them. It was a man she'd  
never seen before, but still the one she knew so well.  
  
"I'm sure a spitfire like you was enough to keep 'em busy while I was gone." Logan  
joked, bracing himself for a slap. Or maybe not, possibly just a real hard pinch through  
his shirt.  
  
Rogue felt that blaze of anger flicker inside her at that his comment. The quick temper  
of his that had been left over as one of his 'more charming personality traits' still shone  
through every once in a while. It quickly dimmed though as she realized 'how could  
anyone be mad at a face like that?'   
  
She smiled again at his expression, his mischievous smirk and that thing he did with his  
left eyebrow. She forgot all about the pain and hurt she'd faced while he was gone, the  
dreams of his that still terrified her as she slept. Just being with him again was enough to  
make it all fade away.  
  
Logan yawned and Rogue looked round to see the clock on her nightstand. The bright  
red figures read 3:43 am.  
  
"It's late," she began. "Everyone else'll be asleep. You can, I mean if you wanna, I  
don't mind any."  
  
She gestured to the bed and Logan stretched. He'd been riding that damn bike down here  
since the same time the night before, only stopping for the odd nap on his way.  
  
"You're sure?" he asked raising an eyebrow.  
  
"Ah'm sure." Rogue answered, her accent pouring out thick once again.  
  
Logan followed her to the bed and stopped just behind her as she reached the bedside.   
He slid his jackets off, leather then denim, then slowly unbuttoned his shirt. Rogue  
grabbed some pillows and a blanket and turned to see him standing only a step away  
wearing only his jeans and the same black T-shirt she remembered. He reached out to  
her and she stood perfectly still as he took hold of the pillows and blanket.  
  
"You go on to bed. I'll take the floor." he said.  
  
Rogue slowly released her grip and turned, climbing into bed.   
  
"Ya didn't think I was givin' y'ma bed did ya?" she teased with a smile.  
  
Logan arranged himself a bed on the floor beside her and lay down. His body was  
exhausted but his mind couldn't seem to shut off.  
  
Both lay perfectly still in the dark room, the silence enveloping them like a warm blanket  
for the night. Logan heard Rogue shuffling around in the bed above him.  
  
"Logan?" she whispered.  
  
"Hmm?" he breathed.  
  
"You'll still be here in the mornin' right?"  
  
Silence.  
  
"Always." His voice was gentle and sincere.  
  
Rogue smiled and closed her eyes, falling away into a deep sleep. As Logan did the same  
he whispered one last thing.  
  
"G'night kid."  



	4. Escape

Title: Escape  
  
Written By: Drea Jackman  
  
Email: DreaJackman@Literati.co.uk  
  
Rating: 15 (UK-rating)  
  
Summary: Logan is plagued by another nightmare, but finds comfort in company that  
was lost years ago to lonership.  
  
Series: Dog Tags  
  
Disclaimer: I own none of the characters involved, not one of them. They all belong to   
Marvel....the lucky...ahem! I am merely playing with them, using them to entertain...and  
partly to fuel my aparent obsession for this couple. Don't ya just luv 'em?!?  
  
Archive: Sure, just email me to lemme know where first. Thanks!  
  
Feedback: Hell yeah! It's another of the small pleasures of writing.  
  
Author's Note: This is part 4, well whadda ya know, I've made it beyond one. Yay me!   
Hope ya like!  
________________________________________________________________  
  
  
Lightening blazed across the sky. The wild crash once again thundered from the heavens.   
A wind that had been gentle and calm that evening had now become an untamed gale  
howling into the night. Although it was not yet totally dark the countryside had become  
dim, cast in shadows. Beneath the iron grey clouds the snow swirled madly in the strong  
winds, landing in droves covering the rocky land, the evergreens, everything in a thick,  
white blanket.  
  
Stealthily a shadowy figure made his was through the trees. His pace was agonizingly  
slow and every step he took was enough to make him stumble and stagger. The freezing  
cold wind nipped and bit at his exposed flesh. There were tears in the jumpsuit he wore  
along with a military emblem embroidered on the back.  
  
Lightening electrified the sky once more and the man jumped. He had not heard the  
crashes of thunder before now. All concentration was hell-bent on escaping. every fibre  
screaming with every inch of animal instinct he possessed. As he continued to run he  
realized that he couldn't have heard the thunder over the "lubb-dupp" sound that echoed  
in his ears, his heartbeat racing furiously as he fled.  
  
Knee-high in snow he fumbled once more and fell to the ground. Cursing again, he  
staggered to his feet and attempted to speed up. 'Damn it!'  
  
From where he had fallen there shone something trespassing on the perfect white surface.   
It cried out scarlet as it soaked into the surrounding snow, the single sign of a mortal  
wound.  
  
His breathing was ragged and with every breath the cold air hit his lungs like a thousand  
icy daggers. Weakened and running purely on what had now become life sustaining  
adrenaline, his body was numb to the wounds that marred his flesh.  
  
Once again his mind was void of all that had taken place. All he knew right then was  
that what had happened had shook him to his core and terrified him. These bouts of  
terror and tiny flashbacks of what had happened occasionally entered his mind, rattling  
around for a few seconds before his body took control. Animal instinct surging over the  
memories and swallowing them up whole as he continued to run.  
  
Suddenly loud voices boomed over the howling wind. German soldiers carrying heavy  
weaponry flooded through the trees, their black uniforms making them look like oil  
pouring over the alabaster surface.  
  
Blind terror seized his body and his pace hastened in wild panic. He staggered, stumbled  
and fell to his knees, got back to his feet with great effort and pushed on once more. It  
became harder and harder to run as fear crippled his breathing and turned his already   
heavy limbs to lead.  
  
Gunshots rang out. Trees and rocks all around him exploded into fragments and he  
ducked and dived through the crossfire. Eyes wide in terror he looked around. Seeing  
the distant shadows of the soldiers growing ever closer he sprang into action again.   
  
One step stumbling over the next, each one taking him that bit farther away from the  
hunters and their guns, each one draining him that bit more.  
  
Gunshots sounded again, then nothing. No yelling. No exhaustion. No pain in taking  
every breath, No more fear. For a few seconds he felt nothing at all. Complete clarity.  
  
All to soon it hit him. Fiery knives stabbing into his back, tearing his flesh through the  
thin material covering. Incredible pain gripped him and it was over. he collapsed with a  
single gasp for breath.  
  
"Logan..."  
  
Silence.  
  
"...Logan wake up."  
  
Rogue tried to bring him out of the nightmare that held him captive again. After what  
had happened last time she thought it better to stay put in bed till Logan was actually  
awake. She looked over the edge of the bed onto where he slept on the floor.  
  
Logan jumped. Breathing rapidly he looked up and saw Rogue watching him. Seeing  
her face above him, watching over him, he felt safer and his heart rate and breathing  
began to steady as the images from the nightmare faded. He closed his eyes trying to  
focus. When he opened them again she wasn't there. He was about to call out to her  
when he felt something cold brush his face. He turned in the direction it came from and  
saw her again, hand outstretched to his face.  
  
She knelt on the floor beside him, pressing the wet face cloth to his head gently trying not  
to startle him again. His body was covered in beads of sweat and he had become  
entangled in the covers he'd slept in. The heat from his skin radiated through the thin  
cloth and Rogue could feel the shudder that ran through him at the contact with the  
coolness of the water.  
  
"Mmm...thankyou." Logan whispered.  
  
"Don't mention it." Rogue replied offering him a slight smile.  
  
She drew the cloth over his cheek and down his neck to his chest. Pressing it to him  
softly, wiping off all the tiny beads before laying it on the floor and resting her gloved  
hands in her lap. It occurred to her that this was the first time she'd had to answer the  
demand in her head. Frowning she cleared her throat.  
  
"D'you um, d'you remember any of it?" she asked awkwardly. "Ah mean, now that it's  
over."  
  
Logan took a deep breath and let it out slowly. Closing his eyes again he spoke.  
  
"Nothing..." he began, "...just,"  
  
Trailing off he opened his eyes and looked up at her. He was Wolverine, this kind of  
stuff didn't come easy to and he was sure as long as he lived no other soul would hear  
him admit it.  
  
"...just fear." he finished, sounding a little ashamed.  
  
Rogue just sat and listened. She appreciated how hard it was for him to be saying this.   
Understanding his fear from the dreams she'd shared with him every night since he'd  
gone, she simply laid a hand on his shoulder to let him feel she was there.   
  
He just gazed back up at her, not knowing what else to say. It dawned on him that she'd  
been likely to have went through his nightmares too. He prayed for her sake that she no  
longer did and he couldn't stop the question leaving his lips.  
  
"Do you still have them?" he asked her, partly dreading the answer.  
  
She nodded and nervously ran a hand through her hair pushing it behind one ear, the  
white shock falling back into her face almost immediately.  
  
"Sometimes." her accent drawled.  
  
Inside Logan something broke. To know that, because of him, her dreams were also  
plagued. Another reason for his promise of care to turn to dust before him.  
  
Sitting up he pulled the covers from his entangled legs and sat them aside. He leaned  
back against the old oak bedstand. Sliding a hand up to where hers rested on his  
shoulder, her sign of comfort when he spoke of fear, he spoke again this time his voice  
wrought with guilt.  
  
"Are you afraid?"  
  
Rogue let his hand take hold of hers as she thought about his question. She was a little  
unsure as to whether he'd meant afraid of the dreams of afraid of him because of what  
she's seen of him in the dreams. Slowly she gripped his hand in her grasp and answered  
him.  
  
"Ah'm not afraid of the dreams. They kept somethin' of you with me all the time you  
were gone."   
  
Looking him in the eye, never breaking contact with him she continued.  
  
"Ah was afraid of what they did to you. Ah saw how they hurt you, felt the terror and  
pain you felt. Ah hated not bein' able to make it easier for you. Ah wanted to be there  
with you. Maybe comfortin' you the way y'did me when ah was scared."  
  
She stopped, beginning to be overcome at the memories of his pain and fear. Logan saw  
her eyes fill and he squeezed her hand in his.  
  
"I'm sorry."   
  
It was all he could say. All that had the smallest chance of making her feel better. To  
make it alright. He was still partly asleep, his eyes felt gritty and they were getting harder  
and harder to focus. He saw the concern on Rogue's face.  
  
As if she took his apology as some kind of signal, Rogue gathered her thoughts together  
and took a deep breath. She stood up still holding Logan's hand and stepped across his  
outstretched legs. She released his hand slowly as she got into bed. Gathering the covers  
together and making herself comfy again she held up the end nearest Logan, offering him  
a more comfortable place to try and get some sleep. After all he looked exhausted.  
  
"Forgiven" then she whispered "C'mon ah'll take care of you."  
  
Logan thought better of the situation for a few seconds. He was never one to think  
everything through first anyway. And he was so tired, a comfy bed wasn't something he  
wanted to turn down right now.  
  
He eased himself up off the floor and took the raised end of the quilt from her. He  
slipped under it keeping only the thin sheet that lay beneath it between them.   
Remembering the first time he'd uttered her last words to her he found that the role  
reversal amused him. Smiling he whispered to her softly.  
  
"You promise?" He laid his head back on the soft pillow and waited for her answer.  
  
"Ah promise." she answered sincerely.  
  
Those words were the last Logan heard that night. Slipping away into a peaceful sleep,  
one that was not plagued by haunting images for once. Rogue propped herself up on her  
pillow next to him. She thought he looked really peaceful in his sleep. Completely  
innocent. 'When he ain't thrashin' around and groanin' anyway.'  
  
His breathing was steady and deep. She watched intently as his chest rose and fell evenly  
under the covers. As Logan continued to dream Rogue lay and watched over him,  
running her gloved fingers through his soft hair until she too slipped away into a peaceful  
dream.  
  



End file.
